@ByronYork
16m16 minutes ago
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House Intel memo officially declassified. One key point: The Steele dossier formed an essential part of the initial and all three renewal FISA applications against Carter Page. Story posting soon.

@ByronYork
15m15 minutes ago
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House Intel memo key point: The FBI's Andrew McCabe confirmed to the committee that no FISA warrant would have been sought from the FISA Court without the Steele dossier information. Story posting soon.

"DOJ official Bruce Ohr met with Steele beginning in the summer of 2016 and relayed to DOJ information about Steele's bias. Steele told Ohr that he, Steele, was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected president and was passionate about him not becoming president."

from the Washington Examiner piece, this seems like a dud. No tie higher than McCabe (conviently sent packing already). No mention of who got surveilled beyond Page. No mention of whether spying started before the FISA Warrant application. Simply they knew the dossier was fake at the get go, and used it to set up a narrative / cover for spying. Meh.

Also, Catherine Herridge said that Fusion briefed several media outlets on the dossier, and then when those stories got printed in the press they used the stories, along with the dossier, as evidence for the FISA court.

W/out dossier, there would've been no FISA warrant. Was admitted under oath by McCabe. DOJ/FBI already knew dossier's source was unreliable & shouldn't be used, but filed applic w/it anyways. Waited until after to fire Steele. Then applied for extensions on warrant anyways.

The House Intelligence Committee has released its controversial memo outlining alleged abuses of secret surveillance by the FBI and Justice Department in the Trump-Russia investigation. Here are some key points:

* The Steele dossier formed an essential part of the initial and all three renewal FISA applications against Carter Page.

* Andrew McCabe confirmed that no FISA warrant would have been sought from the FISA Court without the Steele dossier information.

* The political origins of the Steele dossier were known to senior DOJ and FBI officials, but excluded from the FISA applications.

* DOJ official Bruce Ohr met with Steele beginning in the summer of 2016 and relayed to DOJ information about Steele's bias. Steele told Ohr that he, Steele, was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected president and was passionate about him not becoming president.

The FBI and Justice Department mounted a monthslong effort to keep the information outlined in the memo out of the House Intelligence Committee's hands. Only the threat of contempt charges and other forms of pressure forced the FBI and Justice to give up the material.

Once Intelligence Committee leaders and staff compiled some of that information into the memo, the FBI and Justice Department, supported by Capitol Hill Democrats, mounted a ferocious campaign of opposition, saying release of the memo would endanger national security and the rule of law.

But Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes never wavered in his determination to make the information available to the public. President Trump agreed, and, as required by House rules, gave his approval for release.

Finally, the memo released today does not represent the sum total of what House investigators have learned in their review of the FBI and Justice Department Trump-Russia investigation. That means the fight over the memo could be replayed in the future when the Intelligence Committee decides to release more information.

FBI used articles planted by Fusion GPS to corroborate the Steele dossier compiled by Fusion GPS, which they then leaked to produce more stories. There was a bouncing ball between media/govt/media to create and weaponize the Russia collusion narrative.

I dont have the time to read the memo since the movers are here Rush says the contents of the Memo are even more shocking and revolting than he expected. Rush says he is stunned that the FBI/DOJ did not try even harder to suppress its release!

The MFM will still poo-poo the memo and spin like a gyroscope to the Hard Left.

Besides their utter bias and complicity in this sham, it demonstrates just how incestuous their relationships with administration officials actually were, and how lazy they are at investigating anything and that they are too happy to be spoon-fed their stories by their incestuous partners.

Howie Carr@HowieCarrShow
FBI MUST be abolished ASAP! Let the DEA and US Marshals service take over duties... but the only way to begin to cleanse the corruption is to totally destroy this most corrupt agency... crooked cops suck! #ReleaseTheMemo

Howie Carr@HowieCarrShow

FISA judge was NOT told that fake dossier was paid for Clinton w/Russian info. So the real collusion was FBI-Clinton-Russia to sink the opposition candidate.

Maybe that a unverified/phony dossier was paid for the Dem party to use to get a FISA warrant to spy on opposition candidate team members. And the FBI knowing who paid for the dossier and hiding it from the FISA court. And FBI using media reports to support dossier knowing the media reports were sourced from steele. And everyone involved appeared to be driven by their hatred of Trump.

Aren't you the guy saying where is the proof dossier was used for FISA warrant or was it something else?

I think it's the latter point you made that's most important, Porch. In their dreams, Mueller is going to take out Trump. He's their only hope. They can't even imagine that not happening. If Trump takes out Mueller, the lamentations will be epic.

@KimStrassel
2h2 hours ago
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And as predicted, we are also watching full on spin for why a FISA warrant isn't a big deal, the use of the dossier isn't a big deal, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. If it weren't so disingenuous, the predictability might be funny. #MemoDay

When McCabe, Rosenstein, Yates and Boente are lined up in front of the brick wall and handed a blindfold, the FISA court judge should join them for being so fucking stupid. Or corrupt, whatever the case may be.

1. Trump won't be firing anybody tonight over this.The misconduct illustrated is by people who wouldn't be on the chopping block.

2. Ohr's conduct sounds inexcusable. He may wind up being the fall guy here for everything, as he was in a position to know, or should have known, about the funding of the dossier, and the bias of its source. It isn't clear to me any of the other named parties had that knowledge.

3. The process for securing FISA warrants is pretty terrible.

4. That last paragraph about Popodop stuff being in the FISA warrant is -- well, it raises questions. Lot's of them. I'd love to see a copy of that FISA application.

5. This isn't a sensational document on its face. That makes it a lot more credible. It's not a damp squib.

6. I am interested in what contrarians have to say here. (I am off to emptywheel, I think.)

Way behind, but for folks who have not caught Rush a decent trick is google on your laptop later " Listen To Rush in Hawaii."The linked Hawaiian broadcast is delayed about 3 or 4 hours. Then hit listen and you can catch the whole show again.

For me it's easier to see this as the thin edge of the wedge. There will be more forthcoming. For example, how was this fraudulently obtained surveillance handled after it was captured? Who saw it, and what did they do with it?

Wasn't Sally Yates who was telling us how having an independent institution like DOJ/FBI was more than a tradition.
Now we know why it's so important to keep it independent ... so it can be used as a partisan tool.

I just looked outside and the nation is still here. Would not have guess it by yesterday's rhetoric.

Rosenstein signed a FISA warrant approved and vetted and advocated for by others. The memo is not evidence, and does not show he knew much about the background of any of this. Same is true of Yates and even Comey.